New Delhi could buy 3,000 anti-tank guided Spike missiles from Israel

NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government will begin talks to buy Israeli anti-tank guided missile Spike, with a meeting between Israel’s visiting defence secretary Major General (retired) Udi Adam and his Indian counterpart Sanjay Mitra on Monday.

Adam’s two-day visit beginning Monday is set to be significant as South Block officials said the defence ministry will negotiate to buy at least 3,000 Spike missiles manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems through a government-to-government (G2G) route.

This will meet the army’s urgent requirements and fill the gap before the indigenous Nag anti-tank missile system is inducted.

The talks follow the government’s cancellation this January of a US $900-million order to make Spike missiles in India through full transfer of technology.

The defence ministry hopes to buy the Israeli missile at a cheaper price as the tech transfer clause will not exist now.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which is developing the Nag, has no objection to the government’s plans to buy the Israeli missile so long as the tech transfer term is not applied.

The Nag’s heat-seeker guidance system is at a test stage and the missile’s commercial production is likely to take some time.

THE TALKS FOLLOW THE GOVT’S CANCELLATION THIS JAN OF A US $900MILLION ORDER TO MAKE SPIKE MISSILES IN INDIA THROUGH FULL TRANSFER OF TECH